The number of diabetes patients in China is the second highest in the world after India. Mr. Xiang Kunsan, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the China Medical Association, said the world-wide high risk age for diabetes is 65, but in China, it is just 45. It is estimated that there are about 30 million diabetes patients in China, and the number is increasing at a rate of one million a year or 2,700 a day.
Chinanews reported that the above data came from the sixth Novo Nordisk Diabetes Forum recently held in Beijing.
Xiang Kunsan said diabetes is a chronic disease that is damaging to people’s health with a high financial cost, which shows the social burden diabetes will become for China.
Xiang Kunsan pointed out that when the GDP per person of a nation is lower than US$700 and people are struggling for food and clothing, the incidence of diabetes is low. For countries with a GDP per person between US$700 and US$1,700, the incidence of diabetes increases dramatically. In China, many middle age people gain weight when they do not have to worry about basic living expenses and obesity is a main cause of diabetes.
The forum published the report in China for the first time and disclosed the significant increase of diabetes patients in China.
Beijing Morning Post reported on March 19, the latest diabetes survey conducted in 14 provinces and cities including Beijing showed that three quarters of diabetic patients did not control their blood sugar within the recommended limit. It was also revealed that the weight and waist size of 55 percent of men and 80 percent of women with diabetes exceeded the recommended limit. Diabetes is even more severe in Beijing. The report showed that the incident rate of diabetes in Beijing is 7.7 percent, 2.2 percent higher than the average rate for the country while the total number of diabetes patients in Beijing is over 930,000.
Friends Read Free